Looking at Lu Yuanwai prostrating on the ground, Luo Shuang was speechless.

She shared a similar thought with Lu Yuanwai: you’ve already put a knife to his neck, why not just take what you want? Why bother with all that convoluted reasoning?

“Princess, have you learned?” Du Ge ignored Lu Yuanwai and turned to Luo Shuang, asking.

“Master, your method doesn’t work,” Luo Shuang replied. “I’ve studied the history of dynastic changes. Those founding emperors indeed had their strategies, but those were under specific circumstances…”

“Hold out your hand,” Du Ge interrupted her.

Luo Shuang reflexively extended her hand.

Smack!

The cane came down hard on Luo Shuang’s palm.

Her hand instinctively recoiled, but she quickly regained her composure and retorted, “Master, am I wrong? He’s just a rural squire. He submitted not because of your reasoning but because he’s afraid of you. If you threaten him with a knife, he’ll still give you his money and grain…”

Lu Yuanwai nodded in agreement.

“Princess, I know the reasoning is flawed,” Du Ge said, looking at Luo Shuang with disappointment. “But is that what I was teaching you today—how to get money and grain? How to recruit talent?”

Luo Shuang furrowed her brows, ready to argue again.

But Du Ge cut her off once more: “Princess, what I’m really teaching you today is the art of thick skin and a black heart. You’re right; if I threaten him with a knife, he’ll give me the money and grain. But doing so would make us robbers. Are we robbers?”

“Of course not,” Luo Shuang replied.

“Yes, we are,” Lu Yuanwai thought silently to himself.

“Exactly, we are not robbers,” Du Ge said. “To punish without teaching is cruelty; to punish after teaching but without reform is the way of kings. Like just now with Lu Yuanwai, I offered him benefits. If he agrees to help us, that’s ideal. If not, then he’s obstinate, and we have a justifiable reason to kill him…”

“Master, that’s not what you meant by that saying!” Luo Shuang protested.

Du Ge glanced at her and continued, “Princess, don’t get caught up in the details. Understand the essence of what I’m saying. You need to win over either the landlord class or the peasant class. If you can’t win him over, then kill him and win over another group. This way, your team will grow stronger.”

Luo Shuang pondered, deep in thought.

Lu Yuanwai kept wiping the sweat from his forehead. Compared to Du Ge, he suddenly felt that seizing a few plots of land from the common folk was not such a big crime.

“But this way, you’ll only attract the weak. What about when you encounter the strong?” Luo Shuang still wasn’t convinced. “I can’t rely on a bunch of unwilling people or a group of untrained peasants to help me restore the kingdom!”

“Are you unwilling?” Du Ge turned to Lu Yuanwai, asking.

“Completely willing,” Lu Yuanwai replied, terrified.

“Master, you know that’s not what I meant,” Luo Shuang said, getting a bit angry.

“Luo Shuang, do you remember what I told you? A single spark can start a prairie fire. Sand can build a tower, and feathers can make a cloak. Even the largest empire is made up of these common folk,” Du Ge said earnestly. “You have nothing right now. What makes you look down on them?”

Lu Yuanwai was moved.

“Princess, have you ever played leaf cards? To win, you must have cards to play. Right now, you don’t have any cards, so don’t think about winning big with small stakes,” Du Ge said. “When you’re desperate, you can gamble. But most of the time, taking one step at a time will get you further and more steadily.

Reputation is built bit by bit. When you’ve accumulated enough, then you can truly call for followers and have them flock to you, not because of fear but because of genuine respect. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I think I understand now,” Luo Shuang said after a moment of thought, the fog in her mind gradually clearing. The sacred aura around Du Ge reassembled.

I understand too.

Lu Yuanwai looked at Du Ge with admiration, feeling that he had gained a lot from Du Ge’s teachings to the princess. He thought he might use these principles to make a fortune himself.

“Since you understand, tell me, how do you plan to deal with Lu Yuanwai next?” Du Ge pointed at Lu Yuanwai, giving her a test.

Lu Yuanwai was stunned.

Luo Shuang was also stunned. She asked foolishly, “Master, weren’t you using him to teach me how to recruit talent? Do we really need to subdue him? This is Chongming Kingdom, not Qingwu Kingdom…”

Exactly, exactly, you’ve taught her already, just let me go! Lu Yuanwai looked at Luo Shuang expectantly, his eyes full of gratitude.

“Without small steps, you can’t travel a thousand miles. Without small streams, you can’t form rivers and seas,” Du Ge said. “Princess, is your ambition limited to Qingwu Kingdom?”

“Isn’t it?” Luo Shuang frowned. “Duke Dingguo is already hunting us. Isn’t it inappropriate to provoke Chongming Kingdom now?”

“What’s inappropriate about it?” Du Ge laughed. “Don’t let fixed thinking trap your mind. Raising your own army in Chongming Kingdom is just as good.

If we can overthrow Chongming Kingdom, we can use their forces to restore our kingdom. If we can’t, we can at least create chaos, showing everyone your capabilities. Then you’ll have soldiers and supplies when you need them.”

Lu Yuanwai started wiping his forehead again.

“But…” Luo Shuang frowned. “But won’t Qingwu Kingdom and Chongming Kingdom unite to fight us?”

“When your father was alive, if Chongming Kingdom went to war with another country, would your father send troops to help or seize the opportunity to attack, making them fight on multiple fronts and extorting them?” Du Ge asked.

“The latter, I suppose,” Luo Shuang hesitated.

“Then that’s settled,” Du Ge shook his head. “Princess, don’t be limited by where to start. The key is to start doing something. Now that your identity and our plan are known to Lu Yuanwai, if you don’t recruit him, you’ll have to kill him. If he reports us, we’ll be in trouble.”

Luo Shuang looked at Lu Yuanwai.

Lu Yuanwai was terrified and hurriedly said, “Princess, I swear to keep my mouth shut. I won’t report you. If I do, may my family suffer and die horribly.”

“Princess, do you trust him?” Du Ge asked. “Throughout history, if oaths were effective, the busiest person would be the god of thunder.”

Lu Yuanwai looked up at Du Ge, suddenly realizing that his fate was not in the hands of the naive princess but this ruthless man. He swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Sir, what must I do for you to trust me?”

“Stockpile money and grain, find blacksmiths to forge armor and weapons, train soldiers under the guise of protecting your estate, and gather information on officials’ movements. It would be best if you also wrote a manifesto insulting the emperor of Chongming Kingdom. Only then will you truly be serving the princess,” Du Ge said calmly.

Lu Yuanwai’s face turned as pale as paper.

“Are you willing?” Du Ge asked again.

“I… I am willing,” Lu Yuanwai said, dejectedly lowering his head.

“Congratulations, Princess, on gaining a great general,” Du Ge turned and cupped his fists toward Luo Shuang.

Luo Shuang was bewildered. Isn’t this still a threat?

“Princess, this is not a threat; it’s coercion,” Du Ge saw through Luo Shuang’s thoughts and smiled. “After assigning these tasks to Lu Yuanwai, we can leave without worry and focus on other matters. If he reports us, he’ll suffer first.”

Gulp!

Lu Yuanwai swallowed hard, glaring at Du Ge with deep resentment.

“Princess, as long as we proceed step by step, planting people like Lu Yuanwai throughout Chongming Kingdom, when the time is right, we can quickly gather an army to seize cities and territories,” Du Ge said. “In chaotic times, there are ways to rebel, and in peaceful times, there are ways to rebel.”

“But what if he runs away after we leave?” Luo Shuang pondered for a moment and asked, looking at Lu Yuanwai.

“We’re just two travelers who scared him a bit. If he runs away because of that, he’s too stupid,” Du Ge looked at Lu Yuanwai. “Besides, where can he run to? If that day comes, we’ll send his manifesto insulting the emperor to the authorities, making his life miserable…”

Boom!

Sitting at home, trouble comes from the sky.

Lu Yuanwai cursed Du Ge in his heart. How could such a black-hearted person exist?

“I won’t run, I won’t run,” Lu Yuanwai said awkwardly.

“That’s the smart choice,” Du Ge said, looking at Lu Yuanwai with approval. “Take a chance, and you might advance in rank. Retreat, and you’ll rot in prison. Lu Yuanwai, you’re a smart man; you know what to do…”

Lu Yuanwai was on the verge of tears.

Luo Shuang was dumbfounded. Only now did she truly understand the method Du Ge was teaching her to recruit talent.